why does everyone play 1.d4 2.Bf4 with white ????
1) Is this the greatest opening in the world ?
2) why does everyone play it but they are are not so high rated ???
3) I don't understand what is the point of this opening
thanks
I use to be annoyed playing against the London and now I enjoy it a lot because there are multiple ways for black to win.
No, totally disagree. White has two basic setups: with and without Nc3. Without Nc3, white can play c3 or c4. White can play b3. Different ways of developing minor pieces. It allows creativity due to its solid nature.
Rarely is b3 a good idea in the London. And the Jobava London is a "lifestyle". It is a bit like the Grob - you play it because you want to shake things up, not because it is objectively good.
With c4, it most often just transposes into a QGD with Bf4. That is rarely seen by London players (club-level that is) because if they wanted to play the QGD, they would just play it.
Rarely is b3 a good idea in the London. And the Jobava London is a "lifestyle". It is a bit like the Grob - you play it because you want to shake things up, not because it is objectively good.
With c4, it most often just transposes into a QGD with Bf4. That is rarely seen by London players (club-level that is) because if they wanted to play the QGD, they would just play it.
No, you do not play the Jobava to "shake things up". You play it because it is a very sound opening, not purely blitz stuff, where white develops rapidly, and Black has to avoid quite a few pitfalls- and even if he does, it is still a regular game of chess. It is the modern way to play a system like the Veresov, which is of course sound, but not dangerous at all for Black, as the main positional trump of Bxf6 is nothing more than a bluff- actually a recent course for Black recommends (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bg5) h6! right away.
The Grob is quite simply white's worst first move possible, the only question about it is if it loses by force, or not.
I'm starting to get a feeling that club level in the USA isn't what it is in the UK, where we have a lot of very strong clubs, or had, before four or five years ago. But the local league system here started to fall apart 15 years ago. I think it was the recession after 9-11 which caused it. People putting work first, because they had to work. I continued playing club chess until about 5 years ago and by that time, local leagues that previously had five divisions were reduced to two. So I suppose your reference to club chess might hold at least these days.
I cannot speak for what it is like in the UK, as I haven't played over there (though I would love to travel to Europe and play some games - perhaps once the kids are older). I can describe what I see at my local club, what I've seen at some major tournaments (i.e. the US Open), and what I've seen at some other clubs I've been to.
No, you do not play the Jobava to "shake things up". You play it because it is a very sound opening, not purely blitz stuff, where white develops rapidly, and Black has to avoid quite a few pitfalls- and even if he does, it is still a regular game of chess. It is the modern way to play a system like the Veresov, which is of course sound, but not dangerous at all for Black, as the main positional trump of Bxf6 is nothing more than a bluff- actually a recent course for Black recommends (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bg5) h6! right away.
The Grob is quite simply white's worst first move possible, the only question about it is if it loses by force, or not.
I've never heard anyone call the Jobava London "sound". Not that it is dubious, but I suppose my comparison to the Grob was a bit misplaced. My point was it isn't something a typical club-London player is going to just randomly throw out - that will be their main weapon in hopes of getting your opponent outside of their comfort zone (which is the only reason I can justify playing the Grob). It is not the same as the typical triangle setup most club-level London players go for.
I agree that the Grob is white's worst opening. I am in the camp that it does lose by force after d5/c6/e5, but that is another topic entirely.
No, you do not play the Jobava to "shake things up". You play it because it is a very sound opening, not purely blitz stuff, where white develops rapidly, and Black has to avoid quite a few pitfalls- and even if he does, it is still a regular game of chess. It is the modern way to play a system like the Veresov, which is of course sound, but not dangerous at all for Black, as the main positional trump of Bxf6 is nothing more than a bluff- actually a recent course for Black recommends (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bg5) h6! right away.
The Grob is quite simply white's worst first move possible, the only question about it is if it loses by force, or not.
I've never heard anyone call the Jobava London "sound". Not that it is dubious, but I suppose my comparison to the Grob was a bit misplaced. My point was it isn't something a typical club-London player is going to just randomly throw out - that will be their main weapon in hopes of getting your opponent outside of their comfort zone (which is the only reason I can justify playing the Grob). It is not the same as the typical triangle setup most club-level London players go for.
I agree that the Grob is white's worst opening. I am in the camp that it does lose by force after d5/c6/e5, but that is another topic entirely.
I also guess that the average Joe who plays the London is unlikely to play the Jobava as well: The second cannot be played on autopilot, it needs from white to play actively and creatively, and as such it is one of the best openings for new players: little theory to learn, and active principled chess. Only a fool would discard it because "the horsie blocks the c-pawn".
but can u imagine how that makes that itty-bitty pawn feel ?...sooo safe !
Basically the london opening holds to be a rather easy opening upto a certain rating like the 1600s. Under that peeps usually play this and most of the time DO NOT know how they can be tactically punished on small inaccuracies. What i do recommend is study the main line and a few variations of the London and their counters it will help a lot cos a bunch of london players who dont know how to properly play it are practically idiots asking to lose in 10 moves.
The opening is great for beginners because it's a "system" which means you can basically play it regardless of what your oponnent plays and it leads to very simple development and plans. It's boring as hell to play against but it's a great tool for the newbies.
The problem with recommending systems to beginners is they often lose the concept of nuance and it also harms your thinking and chess playing because you just blitz out the same moves every single time without giving any thought into what your opponent is doing etc.
It's good for developing bad habits is what I'm saying
Totally agree. I think beginners should look for trouble as much as possible.
1)It’s super flexible
Not really. White only has a couple plans. Black has more flexibility to deal with it than White has with playing it.
2)Since you know what you are doing It’s a bit like no stress chess
Playing on autopilot is not "knowing what you are doing". Black has many ways to catch White in move-order tricks. If White doesn't actually know what they are doing, they can quickly get swept off the board (see the Kuipers game posted here: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/why-does-everyone-play-the-london-system-with-white?page=3#comment-71655575
3)It’s practically un breakable yet solid
Not really. It is not striving for an opening edge. The whole idea is White just wants to develop his pieces, get his king safe, and then reach a playable middlegame. The problem comes in when White assumes they can just play on autopilot (which is what so many London players do) and end up walking into traps. If White knows the move-order tricks and avoids them, Black still gets a very pleasant position, but then White has spent a good amount of time studying theory, which defeats the whole point of using the London as a primary weapon.
4)There’s no solution to deal with it and it’s very annoying to play against
If by "annoying" you mean "boring", then yes. There is a reason its other (older) name is "The Boring Opening". There are many ways Black can approach it. Magnus had a neat idea against Aronian yesterday (playing Nf6/e6/Be7 and going for a quick Nh5 to get the bishop pair immediately). Black can also play for a solid setup and have a good game. Or he can pawn storm White before White is ready to deal with it. Or he can play for early c5/Qb6 ideas to catch White in move order tricks. As I said, Black has a lot of flexibility in how to deal with the London.